1 Chronicles 17

11 When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.

David was well connected with God, understatement.  But I'm curious how much he could truly grasp the revelations Nathan shared with him.  I presume this section to be speaking of Jesus.  Does David truly get it?  How overwhelming would that feeling be?

I don't have a specific takeaway just this observation.

knut

1 Chronicles 15-16

16:8        Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

    make known among the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

12 Remember the wonders he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

Tucked neatly into this verse is a model for how we should worship God.  I think in our church and probably most we have a service on Sunday's that really does align with this model which I'm sure is no accident.  But I'm thinking this should be just how I live each day, just during my few hours at church on Sunday.  Afterall it doesn't say Give praise to the Lord, from 9:30 to 10:30 each Sunday at Westview.

Going back to Chapter, there was on verse at the very end that didn't seem to fit.  What do you make of this?

29 As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.

knut

1 Chronicles 13-14

13:8 David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets.

I read through these two chapters and didn't get any significant points.  But I did take note of how they celebrate with all their might before God.  I don't know that there have been many if anytimes I could say I have been involved with celebrating God with all my might might.  Maybe clear back to some high school caravan trips, I don't know.  At my church we are so much more reserved--maybe we shouldn't be.

side note when I said caravan it made me think of the Bartletts.  I believe last week was the 1 year anniversary of the accident.  I still can't imagine the pain and emptiness they must be feeling.  They have sure lived out their faith in this time of crisis.  Dave has been very transparent in sharing the range of emotions they feel of sadness, anger, emptiness, hope in God and a desire to celebrate life in spite of being on a path they would never chosen in a million years. 

I pray for peace and His healing hand to continue to be with their family.

knut

1 Chronicles 11-12

I didn't pick out a verse today, but more of an overall sense of the mood of the time.  The Israelites must have been awaiting something great to happen, while Saul was king.  He is moving farther and farther away from God, and the people could undoubetly feel it.  They are becoming more and more splintered.  And then comes David.  He seems to have a certain magnetism about him.   People are longing to join a cause that is just.  David brings them that chance.  They all start joining him.  These are exceptional people.  In my experience it takes someone of EXTREME character to lead those that are beyond ordinary.  God keeps gathering these type people to David.  His army grows.  God's army grows.  Those last two lines are interchangable.  That's the key.  Is my life interchangable with God's plan.....

tp

1 Chronicles 9-10

10:13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance,

Saul's life was also documented in Samuel.  I can't honestly say I recall many details until I started reading some other sites I dug into on the internet.  The documentation in the bible of Saul is apparently a source debate because of inconsistencies...I'll leave that to the scholars to dive into and debate.

In this verse I simply note the very direct and flat statement made about the consequences of being unfaithful to the Lord.  Go.  d is the same today, so we should take care to be faithful to him.  I'm not seeking any mediums for guidance so I'm clear there, but how often do I break his word or not seek him for guidance.  The honest answer is often and not often respectively.

I want to rededicate myself to seeking his guidance.  Earlier this year I was doing better, the reason why was I was feeling the heat at work and I couldn't solve it myself so I went to Him.  Now things are better and what is my reaction...I'm back to doing my own thing.  I want to follow him always not just when I'm in crisis mode.

knut

1 Chronicles 6-8

7 24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horonas well as Uzzen Sheerah.

This was hidden in there, but it caught my eye.  All these sons and fathers, and then this one line.  I googled her, and this is what I found.

SHEERAH – 1 Chronicles 7:24

Tucked away in a genealogy in 1 Chronicles chapter 7 is a woman named Sheerah. It is not entirely clear if this woman was the daughter of a man called Beriah (the son of Ephraim, one of the sons of Joseph) or whether she was the daughter of Ephraim himself.

Very few women are named in genealogies because, at that time, the family line was traced through the men. So it is significant when a woman is mentioned, and even named, in one.

Sheerah was obviously an influential and wealthy woman. She built and established the towns of Upper and Lower Horon. These towns were built in a strategic location and went on to have a long history. Sheerah even built a town that bears her name: Uzzen Sheerah. She was probably a leader of the towns she established.

Sheerah is just one example of an Old Testament woman who had a prominent position of authority and influence, and, as with other Bible women with authority, there is no hint that this was inappropriate or improper, or that anyone had a problem with it.

There are several women in the Bible who showed initiative, influence, and resourcefulness. Some of these women seem obscure to us, but they were far from obscure to the people of their time. These Bible women – which include Serah, Aksah and Sheerah – were prominent women with clout.

1 Chronicles Ch 1-5

5:17 All these were entered in the genealogical records during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel

I'm not sure why God gave us the list of history.  I bet the bible scholars and researchers have poured through this over the years to connect the dots of history and lineage.  I'm glad we are reading it now versus earlier in our journey because as I read through the list of names there are a lot of names that we have read a little about their lives and it is cool to read the name and have even a spark of a memory of a chapter come through my head--this would not have happened had we not gone chapter by chapter through the bible.

I'm so glad we have been on this journey together.  These chapters are dry but still its cool to see the list of names and how things hook together.  Seeing names of people who are the origin of cities named after them.  He has it all put together perfectly.

knut

ps -- had to add this part, I went to Tom's site to see he could possibly write about Chronicles.  Note the timing of his post 6 years ago in 2010--too funny.

Tom's post

Adam, Seth, Enosh…. 1 Chronicles 1:1 (MSG)

Reading through the trunk of our family tree today, I could not help thinking about Father's Day this past week. We are all a product, genetically, of our forefathers. We are all influenced, systemically, by our famillies. For me, a huge part of understanding my own journey has been spent answering the questions:

"Who am I?"
"Who is Jesus?"
"Who am I in Jesus?"

Certainly part of the answers have come from learning about my family. In the past I find clues to who I am in the present. And yet, the future is largely determined by me. I choose the next step I take.

What shall I do today?

Next Steps

Looks like we have both books in Chronicles, and then Revelation.
Wow!  We are almost at the end.

My votw would be to go with Chronicles first.  Let's keep rollin in the Old T
tp

Reading List

Book:	Completed
Written by Moses
1. Genesis	Oct-13
2. Exodus	Dec-13
3. Leviticus	Mar-14
4. Numbers	Mar-16
5. Deuteronomy	Oct-11
OT Narratives
6. Joshua	Oct-11
7. Judges	Dec-11
8. Ruth	Dec-11
9. 1 Samuel	Feb-12
10. 2 Samuel	Mar-12
11. 1 Kings	May-16
12. 2 Kings	Jun-16
13. 1 Chronicles
14. 2 Chronicles
15. Ezra	Apr-14
16. Nehemiah	Apr-14
17. Esther	May-14
Wisdom Literature
18. Job	Aug-14
19. Psalms	Ch 1-32  Jan 2013, Ch 33-150 Sep 2015
20. Proverbs	Mar-13
21. Ecclesiastes	Apr-13
22. Song of Songs	Apr-13
Major Prophets
23. Isaiah	Isaiah 1-35 Jun-13
24. Jeremiah	Apr-15
25. Lamentations	May-15
26. Ezekiel	Dec-15
27. Daniel	Jan-16
Minor Prophets
28. Hosea	Sep-14
29. Joel	Sep-14
30. Amos	Sep-14
31. Obadiah	Sep-14
32. Jonah	Sep-14
33. Micah	Oct-14
34. Nahum	Oct-14
35. Habakkuk	Oct-14
36. Zephaniah	Oct-14
37. Haggai	Oct-14
38. Zechariah	Dec-14
39. Malachi	Dec-14
NT Narratives
40. Matthew	Feb-14
41. Mark	Jan-15
42. Luke	Jan-13
43. John	May-15
44. Acts	Aug-13
Epistles by Paul
45. Romans	May-12
46. 1 Corinthians	May-12
47. 2 Corinthians	Jul-12
48. Galatians	Jul-12
49. Ephesians	Jul-12
50. Philippians	Aug-12
51. Colossians	Aug-12
52. 1 Thessalonians	Sep-12
53. 2 Thessalonians	Sep-12
54. 1 Timothy	Sep-12
55. 2 Timothy	Sep-12
56. Titus	Sep-12
57. Philemon	Sep-12
General Epistles
58. Hebrews	Oct-12
59. James	Apr-12
60. 1 Peter	Nov-12
61. 2 Peter	Nov-12
62. 1 John	Nov-12
63. 2 John	Nov-12
64. 3 John	Nov-12
65. Jude	Nov-12
Apocalyptic Epistle by John
66. Revelation

Reading List

Book:	Completed
Written by Moses
1. Genesis	Oct-13
2. Exodus	Dec-13
3. Leviticus	Mar-14
4. Numbers	Mar-16
5. Deuteronomy	Oct-11
OT Narratives
6. Joshua	Oct-11
7. Judges	Dec-11
8. Ruth	Dec-11
9. 1 Samuel	Feb-12
10. 2 Samuel	Mar-12
11. 1 Kings	May-16
12. 2 Kings	Jun-16
13. 1 Chronicles
14. 2 Chronicles
15. Ezra	Apr-14
16. Nehemiah	Apr-14
17. Esther	May-14
Wisdom Literature
18. Job	Aug-14
19. Psalms	Ch 1-32  Jan 2013, Ch 33-150 Sep 2015
20. Proverbs	Mar-13
21. Ecclesiastes	Apr-13
22. Song of Songs	Apr-13
Major Prophets
23. Isaiah	Isaiah 1-35 Jun-13
24. Jeremiah	Apr-15
25. Lamentations	May-15
26. Ezekiel	Dec-15
27. Daniel	Jan-16
Minor Prophets
28. Hosea	Sep-14
29. Joel	Sep-14
30. Amos	Sep-14
31. Obadiah	Sep-14
32. Jonah	Sep-14
33. Micah	Oct-14
34. Nahum	Oct-14
35. Habakkuk	Oct-14
36. Zephaniah	Oct-14
37. Haggai	Oct-14
38. Zechariah	Dec-14
39. Malachi	Dec-14
NT Narratives
40. Matthew	Feb-14
41. Mark	Jan-15
42. Luke	Jan-13
43. John	May-15
44. Acts	Aug-13
Epistles by Paul
45. Romans	May-12
46. 1 Corinthians	May-12
47. 2 Corinthians	Jul-12
48. Galatians	Jul-12
49. Ephesians	Jul-12
50. Philippians	Aug-12
51. Colossians	Aug-12
52. 1 Thessalonians	Sep-12
53. 2 Thessalonians	Sep-12
54. 1 Timothy	Sep-12
55. 2 Timothy	Sep-12
56. Titus	Sep-12
57. Philemon	Sep-12
General Epistles
58. Hebrews	Oct-12
59. James	Apr-12
60. 1 Peter	Nov-12
61. 2 Peter	Nov-12
62. 1 John	Nov-12
63. 2 John	Nov-12
64. 3 John	Nov-12
65. Jude	Nov-12
Apocalyptic Epistle by John
66. Revelation

2 Kings 24-25

I feel like I've written this everyday for the past couple of weeks....but, I didn't catch anything specific in the scripture today.  I did however continue to sense the fracturing of the people.  The unfocused-ness of their mission.  As they move farther and farther away from God...their lives become more disorganized and they are attacked more.  Its almost as if the more control they try to have over their lives, the less they have.  When they relinquish all control to God, they wind up having a much more stable environment.  George Costanza theory of doing the opposite, I guess.

I think that's the end of the book.  I am anxious to move on.  It seems really repetitive and a little depressing.

tp

2 Kings 21-23

I just kept reading until a theme hit me.  I find the reign of Josiah to be very interesting.  I get the sense that these kings were SO far removed from God that they didn't even realize it.  They had completely lost their way.  Along comes little Josiah.  All of 8 years old when he becomes king.  I'm not sure it says how old he was when he starts making all the changes, but its remarkable regardless.  He finds the book of the covenant, and completely follows it.  He destroys everything around him that isn't in accordance with the what the book says.....
So, my question is;  what is in our lives that is in conflict with the book we are reading everyday?  What do we need to destroy, or cut out of our lives?  For me, I need to take a fresh look at my surroundings, my habits, my priorities....and give my life a full "Josiah-ing."
Back to the covenant I've made with God, many times.

tp

2 Kings 20

8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the
 temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”

This request from Hezekiah caught my attention.  I would think after all the things God has done for the people, and all they have seen....that Hezekiah would trust in what Isaiah is saying to him.  So, to make it even simpler;  He is given fantastic news that God is going to answer his prayer and heal him.  Upon hearing this news, it doesn't say he thanks God profusely.  He doesn't write a song to commemorate the event.  He doesn't pile up some rocks to make an altar.  He asks for a sign, that will re-affirm to him what God is going to do.

I'm not sure where to take that.  But, hmmmmmm.

I do that to God too.  But, I feel like I should trust him with his message and not ask for the redundant confirmation.

tp

2 Kings 19

19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth....

This line continues to befuddle me.  We've read it multiple, multiple times.  When someone in the Old Testament is upset, this is what they do.  I wonder what the significance is?

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 

I love the intimacy that this line portrays.  At least if it means what I think it means.  I can see a guy walking into the temple, and spreading out these notes, so that God can read each page.....and then praying to it.  "Can you see this God?, what am I to do?"  That shows me a level of personal relationship that is to be admired.

tp

2 Kings 18

27 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

First of all,.....nasty!  I'm glad to see we are back to a king that is right with God and follows him.  Hezekiah is painted in a very positive light.  Its refreshing.

I was laying in bed last night thinking about the readings we've been doing in the last little while, (I know, right?) and something hit me.  In the beginning of the kings, the people relied on God to choose the man.  Wasn't there something about the cows, and if they turned right or left?  I think that was the signal from God as to Saul's kingship.  Then God obviously hand picked David.  But, now there doesn't seem to be much involvement from God on who is king of either Israel or Judah.  Men are killed and replaced by someone new.  Men are evil and are captured and someone else takes over.  They are neither picked by God, or consulted by God.  Its another story of men choosing their own way over the Lord's.    When we don't involve him....things slant.  They move slightly away from God at first, almost so small it's hard to notice.  And then before you know it.....you are SO far off track, you look at it and say, "holy crap! how did I get here"

tp

2 Kings 17

Well, its Friday....so, I like to keep it short and sweet.

"They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless." 

I found this verse to be VERY telling.  Not only then, but also now.  I often hear the saying, "you are what you eat", or "you reap what you sew"...this is along those same lines.  I like to think of us people as precious in the eyes of the Lord.  And I think that's true.  He never gives up on us.  But, at some point, if we aren't following his plan, and moving the ball in the right direction down the field...we become worthless in his mission.  In fact, we can become the defense that is trying to stop his mission.  Without directly trying to do that.  When I read that verse, and think about todays culture, the idols are money, power, family, status, possessions....etc.
Same issues, different millenium

tp

2 Kings 16

It continues to surprise me how brutal these times were.  If I asked you to picture in your mind the splashing of blood around.....inside a building, you would probably think I was talking about some horror movie or a cult ceremony.  But, this was everyday life for the Isrealite people.  Crazy!

15 ..."Splash against this altar the blood of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices."

I'm not sure what else to add to this one.  I do find it interesting how all of these kings are compared to "their father David".  I know these are not all David's children.  But they must be referring to their lineage.  David must have been their earthly hero.

2 Kings 15

28 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.

As I read this chapter and others in 2 Kings I am continually reminded of how powerful my actions are today in terms of influencing future generations.  Being a man of God today will increase the likelihood that my kids, kids kids, kids kids kids will also find Jesus.

Alternatively my negative acts may have an even higher likelihood of influencing my kids just as Jeroboam's acts have lingered on for generations.

knut